In case you missed it, here's what happened in Montreal on October 27

Harley has an oxygen mask placed over his head as he is held by firefighter Sebastien Masse during a demonstration introducing a survival kit for pets/animals by the Montreal Firefighters Association on Friday, Oct. 27, 2017.Christinne Muschi / MONTREAL GAZETTE

Animal lovers take heart: Montreal firefighters can now resuscitate dogs, cats or even hamsters and ferrets, in the event of a fire. On Friday, the union representing Montreal firefighters announced it will donate 100 animal survival kits to the Montreal Fire Department to help save the lives of animals during emergency calls. Association des pompiers de Montréal president Ronald Martin explained the kits will allow firefighters to make a big difference not only with animals, but also the lives of their owners. “When you have a young child who has lost everything, but you’re able to save the life of his or her animal, imagine what a difference that can make,” Martin said. “Before these kits, we often would arrive on the scene of a fire and find unconscious pets and we wouldn’t be able to do anything.”

Calling the issue of unsanitary and unsafe apartments a scourge that affects one in three households in Montreal, Projet Montréal leader and mayoral candidate Valérie Plante presented her party’s pledges to tackle the issue Friday. “Conditions can range from a window that never closes properly, letting in cold air, so the little one always has a cold, just to serious mould issues … the city has to be much more proactive,” Plante said at a news conference on Barclay St. in Côte-des-Neiges, home to many lower-rent apartments and new arrivals to Canada. The party promised to double the number of housing inspectors in the city to perform 100,000 housing checks over the next five years, with a follow-up, which is often overlooked presently due to a lack of personnel, Plante said. Finally, the city would create a public listing of problematic owners or slumlords in the city who don’t perform needed renovations. The pledges would mean creating 20 to 30 new inspector positions, Plante said.

Music fans enjoy the performance by the Dutch DJ duo Showtek at the ÃleSoniq music festival at Jean-Drapeau Park in Montreal on August 15, 2015.Dario Ayala /
Montreal Gazette

Mayor Denis Coderre denied allegations Friday his administration gave preferential treatment to Groupe CH, owners of the Montreal Canadiens and the Evenko concert promotion firm, by granting $28 million in public funds to upgrade the open-air amphitheatre on Île-Ste-Hélène. “Listen, the reality, and it’s factual … is we needed major change (on Île-Ste-Hélène),” he said. “I have a lot of ambition for Montreal. Parc Jean-Drapeau belongs to everyone and I think that if we can have something like the Hollywood Bowl that attracts top-notch acts that are the greatest in the world, including our own locally, so be it.” An article published Friday by La Presse noted Groupe CH had tried since 2010 without success to convince the city administration to invest heavily to increase the capacity of the open-air theatre that hosts the Osheaga, Heavy Montreal and ÎleSoniq music festivals promoted by Evenko from 45,000 seats to 65,000. It was also asking for the city to pay for electrical infrastructure that would benefit concert promoters who use generators to power their sound systems.

Dancer, teacher and historian Vincent Warren is remembered as a generous artist with an encyclopedic knowledge of the dance world at large. The former principal dancer of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens died of cancer on Wednesday. He was 79. “He was musical and very elegant,” former dance partner Annette av Paul said. “I always felt secure in his hands.” Choreographer Brian Macdonald — av Paul’s late husband — created Adieu Robert Schumann for Warren’s farewell performance when he retired from the stage in 1979. “Vincent’s dramatic power on stage was breathtaking,” av Paul said.

Voters in Westmount are about to embark on a relatively unfamiliar odyssey. For the first time in what seems to be ages, they will be heading to the polls Nov. 5 for a truly contested election to vote for a new city of Westmount mayor whose name is not Trent. Based on a random, decidedly unscientific survey conducted on Greene Ave., it would appear the majority of residents I interviewed are in the dark about whom they wish to become their mayor, let alone what the candidates stand for. But most pledge to do their homework before heading to the polls. Peter Trent had been unopposed as Westmount mayor through five terms, over a period from 1991 to 2013. (Karen Marks was mayor from 2002 to 2005 after Westmount was merged into the supercity and again, in an essentially uncontested election, from 2006 to 2009.) Rather than go for a sixth term, Trent stepped down from office last April, seven months before this municipal election.

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